For over 200 years, the Fairfax County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office has done the often thankless work that keeps the legal system running, but a new exhibit gives clerks their moment in the spotlight.
A new exhibit on display at the Fairfax County Circuit Court shows off 200 years of clerical work and the stories of those who worked in the office over the years.
The exhibit — titled “The Backbone of the Court: The Clerk’s Office” — is on display through the end of August at the Historic Records Center (4000 Chain Bridge Road, Suite 1600).
The exhibit is accessible between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. in the center’s document viewing room, which typically opens only for special events. It will also be included in existing tours of the Historic Courthouse that are conducted on Fridays at 3 p.m.
According to a release:
Through the lens of previous Clerks F. D. Richardson, F. W. Richardson, John Whalen, and Thomas P. Chapman Jr., visitors will see examples of life in the Clerk’s office and the duties performed there. Displayed historic documents, photographs, and artifacts span from 1800 to 1967. Along with historic documents such as the original handwritten Court Minute Book from the first court session held at our Historic Courthouse in 1800, some of the Clerk’s tools of the trade are available to be handled by those who visit this exhibit.
“This exhibit is the perfect blend of past and present,” Alexandra Campbell, assistant archivist of the Historic Records Center, said in the release. “While the exhibit has artifacts that are 100 to over 200 years old, visitors can also learn about an office that they will most likely interact with at some point in their life whether they are getting married, purchasing property, documenting a will, or related to another department of the Circuit Court.”
